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20.3.17

iron fist

Over the past week, I've been watching the new Netflix/Marvel show Iron Fist. I'm only on episode 4, but so far I've been really enjoying it. It's a classic superhero setup, super rich parents die in plane crash, kid survives, learns kung fu and returns to fight evil. What the show doesn't have so far, is relentless sexualisation of women, senseless violence or cocky lead character. What it does have is several women in positions of power, a multitude of non-white actors (compared to most such shows or movies) and a very kick ass, Asian female martial artist. Dialogue is good, fight scenes engaging and pacing is just right to help you connect with the characters and the plot. It's not a non-stop CGI generated fight scene designed to entertain males hyped up on violent video games where women are scantilly clad murder and rape victims or prostitutes. And it's nowhere near as sexist or culturally appropriating as for example the new Ghost In The Shell with Scarlet Johannson's curvy body being displayed in skintight clothing and her face digitally altered to have Asian features, instead of employing a genuine Asian actress. Or nauseatingly violent (and in some respects sexist and abusing racial tropes) Jessica Jones, lauded by choicy-choice identitarians as being 'feminist'.

Naturally, neoliberal media that dominates Google searches is outraged, bored and revolted with Iron Fist, and this includes all 'serious' papers like Guardian, Torygraph and Independent (if only) all of whom defended sexualised, culturally apropriating Scarlet Johansson's GITS, without batting an eyelid. It seems that unless we see non-stop desensitising action and violence, and women whose primary function is to be ogled, the show has no merit. To think that Deadpool, the study in boring, white guy obnoxiousness, had the critics salivating all summer long, the mind boggles. At least by now, the hypocrisy is predictable.

As for Iron Fist, the four episodes I've seen so far are well worth a watch. And unless the show does a switcheroo, and starts sexualising and devaluing female characters and employing a lot more CGI (after lulling us into false sense of security, like Orphan Black or Humans) I would like to see the second season. There, I said it.